Resealable pouches in the form of thermoplastic bags have been developed of a type that includes one or more sets of closure profiles for maintaining the pouch in a sealed condition. Another set of pouch designs has been developed wherein each design includes one or more flaps or other structures that seal below the closure profiles in an attempt to render the pouch fluid-tight. These designs are usually intended for use with a cursor or slider that can be slid across the top of the bag to close same; however, such designs are not always effective and may not allow a vacuum to be drawn and maintained in the pouch. Another set of pouch designs utilizes one or more one-way valve(s) disposed in a sidewall and/or in a closure profile of the pouch. A manually-operated pump or other air removal device is placed in fluid communication with the valve(s) and operated to effectuate air removal from the pouch until a vacuum state is reached. The closure profiles of this type of pouch may be somewhat complex in design and may require careful design.
A thermal sealing apparatus may be utilized as part of the vacuum pump. The thermal sealing apparatus melts the sidewalls of the pouch together once the vacuum pump has removed the air from the interior of the pouch. This sealing arrangement suffers from the potential deficiency that liquid from the interior of the pouch may be pulled into the heat sealing area between the sidewalls by the air flow as the vacuum is drawn, which prevents the sidewalls from completely melting together. As a result, the seal may be compromised. Examples of at least some vacuum devices that may be suitable for use include U.S. Pat. Nos. D501,859, 4,164,111, 4,583,347, and 4,941,310, however, utilizing the present disclosure, the thermal sealing apparatuses of each of the aforementioned may not be necessary.